Elevator Music
by SardonyxRosetta
Summary: Raven is heading in to work at Grayson Industries and encounters the newest intern, Garfield Logan, in the elevator. But what happens when their trusty elevator stops working between floors, and Garfield is not fond of small spaces? Includes: mopeds, tea, and hyperventilation.
Hello friends! I have a BBRae fanfic for you today. It's been my first in a long while because of school and stress, so please tell me what you think. This fic does have some claustrophobic situations, so this is a quick warning for those of you who that may concern. Please review if you would be so inclined! It really does help a ton, even if it's just a couple words.

Thanks so much!

-SR

"Why isn't it moving?"

Raven blinked groggily, looking up from the tea she had filched from the first floor offices on her way to the secretarial ones on the fifth. "What?"

Her blond-haired associate, a new addition to the offices, was staring it her nervously. He was an intern, wasn't he? Joining Victor in the graphics department? Grayson had said something about it at the last company meeting. "The elevator. It stopped."

The dark-haired young woman shook away a portion of her sleepiness as his words registered. "What do you mean it stopped?" Sure enough, the small, clunky box of polished metal had lodged itself somewhere between four and five, and it sat there like a slow, stupid animal that had face-planted into the carpeting for a nice long nap.

"I mean it stopped," he said, yanking his laptop case off of his shoulder and letting it thud heavily against the ground as he rushed over to the doors, trying to pry at them with his fingers. Raven tried pushing a button or two, but all they did was light up. Nothing happened.

She glanced over at him again, watching his muscles tense under his white business shirt as he pried at it. What was his rush? It wasn't like there was a serial killer after them. "We need some assistance," Raven said, after pressing the emergency button and connecting herself to the local fire department. "The elevator's stuck between 4th and 5th and it's not moving." After a few basic questions, the authorities were on their way, and Dick Grayson's personal secretary turned her attention to the fidgeting man beside her. "Are you alright?"

The blond beside her seemed to be sweating a little more than before, and he shrugged. "I'm just not good with small spaces." He offered a weak smile that Raven didn't believe for a second and loosened his hideous green and white checkered tie.

"Well, it should be a while," she sighed, putting down her briefcase and leaning against the wall as she took another sip of her tea. "They're not really sure what's wrong."

"That's too bad," the young man said, a finger hooked nervously between his neck and the fabric of his starched shirt. "Is it getting hot in here?"

Raven looked at him blankly. Even in her knee-length grey dress, black pantyhose, and dark blazer, she was starting to feel chilly. Vaguely, she wondered if he was more claustrophobic than he let on. "No."

"Great. Great great great." His breathing hitched, spiking to a rate far outside what one would consider normal as his limbs began to tremble.

Realizing that something was definitely wrong here, the composed 22-year-old set down her morning Earl Grey and stepped closer to the intern. "Are you having a panic attack?" she asked calmly, tucking her chin-length hair behind her ears.

His eyes opened wide, and he looked at her with a strange mix of wariness, panic, and recognition. "I- I-" he stuttered, leaning heavily against the metallic wall. "I don't- "

"It's okay," she said, a relaxing tenderness smoothing over her gravelly voice. "This is scary stuff for some people. Help is on its way."

"But how long is going to take to get here?!" he exclaimed, fingers fisting in golden locks. "It could be days!"

"I promise, it won't take – "

"Or what if the problem is so bad the elevator cables snap?" he asked, looking up with realization. "We could die!"

"What's your name?" Raven question gently, trying to decide the best way to approach the situation.

"Garfield Logan," he muttered through his distress, blue eyes plagued with worry.

"Mr. Logan, I think it'd be in your best interest to take a seat." She put a hand on his shoulder, listening to his labored breathing as she guided him gently to the ground. With a little less grace than she had wished, she plopped down next to him. "Help is on its way, I promise. You heard me talking to them, didn't you?" the secretary asked calmly. The young man nodded vaguely, refusing to meet her gaze as his oxygen intake became a sporadic gasp. She rubbed his shoulder blade gently. "Just try to take some deep breaths, okay? We're going to be fine."

When his deep breaths came out in the form of shuddery gasps, Raven did her best not to sigh. Patience. Patience was all that she could invoke at this point in time. Thinking back to the first days of her meditation class, she remembered the beginning exercises that the instructor had them do and allowed the corner of her mouth to curl up into a soft smile. "Why don't you breathe with me for a bit? In for six counts, out for eight." She tapped the beats out on his shoulder as the pair inhaled and exhaled – first sporadically, and after a minute or two, in harmony. "You're doing wonderfully," she murmured between sets, watching the way his expression softened ever so slightly. His flushed face was wrought with embarrassment.

"I'm so sorry," he said, his low voice trembling. "I didn't mean for anyone to see me so... weak."

"Don't be sorry," Raven murmured, squeezing his shoulder again. "It isn't your fault. I promise not to tell anyone if you don't want me to, but there's no reason to be ashamed. Okay?"

Garfield said nothing, but nodded. A small amount of tension disappeared from his face. He breathed steadily now, lungs under control. He wasn't back to perfect condition, but...

Raven paused, looking closer at his tie. Those weren't white checks, they were – "Mopeds?" she asked, bewildered and caught rather off-guard. "Why does your tie have mopeds on it?"

He blinked. "I, uh, just really like them. It's the first thing I ever drove. I took my Yamaha today, actually, the little red one in the parking lot."

Raven snickered a little; she couldn't help it. "And you like them so much that you have a tie patterned with them?"

For the first time since he had entered the elevator, Garfield smiled. "My mom gave it to me for my birthday. I thought it might be okay to wear to my first day on the job."

"Victor is going to love it," Raven said, returning his gaze.

"And will Mr. Grayson care?" he asked.

"He probably won't notice," she replied with a smile. "He's a pretty busy man. But I think he'll find it amusing, if he sees it. I promise, not everyone in the office is as uptight as we might seem."

"Cool," he said, adjusting the watch on his wrist. "I guess my summer won't be as uptight as I first thought."

Raven chuckled. "Probably not. But it's always a good plan to start out with a certain amount of professionalism when dealing with Mr. Grayson."

With a sharp jolt, the elevator began to rise once again. Garfield instantly froze, eyes widening to comical proportions.

Raven put a gentle hand on his arm. "Don't forget to breathe. We're almost out."

"I am going to take the stairs every day from now on out," he said through gritted teeth.

"Exercise is never a bad thing," she replied, climbing to her feet as gracefully as she could and leaning down to grab her stolen tea. "But the fifth floor is pretty high up."

"Not if it saves me the stress," he muttered, also trying to make it to his feet.

"Here," she said, offering her hand.

Garfield reached out at first, but seemed hesitant. "Not to be insulting, but I'm pretty heavy." He glanced down at her sky-high heels. "Are you sure-"

Raven grabbed his hand and pulled, smirking as she easily pulled him up. "The one thing we pride ourselves on here at Grayson Industries," she said, "is a firm handshake, at the very least. You'll find that many of the people here are much stronger than they first appear."

With that, the doors to the elevator opened, and Raven smiled. "I think you'll get along just fine here, Garfield. Even with your moped tie," she added, turning and walking out onto the fifth floor with her head held high. He would be an interesting one to have on this summer, especially with Vic as his cohort. She just hoped for his sake that they didn't stick him in any of the tiny cubicles that the company normally put the interns in … maybe she would have to have a talk with Mr. Grayson about that.


End file.
